The Burning Truth
by CSIaddict
Summary: NS Chapter 10 is here! Sara is still in her coma and Nick tries to deal! Let the prosecution begin!
1. Being Together

OK, Yes I know. Why is she starting a new story? She has two others that desperately need to be updated.  
  
To tell you the truth, the computer with those stories is right now not able to function, so with those stories on hold I need a new distraction, so here it is!  
  
I really hope you like this new thing I am working on. I got a few ideas from other stories so I will reference the authors when I get to that. This is a Nick/Sara but I may add a Grissom/Catherine, which is more than likely.  
  
Thanks to all who reviewed my other story (Survivor: Las Vegas Crime Lab). The response was awesome and I want to apologize to all who are waiting for the update, but like I said, the computer it is saved on isn't working and as soon as possible, I will post.  
  
Please r/r! Thanks!  
  
~Jax  
  
Disclaimer: They only place that these characters are mine in are in another dimension, and since we aren't in that dimension, they ain't mine!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The Burning Truth  
  
Chapter 1  
  
It was a brisk January night, and two of the CSI's from the Las Vegas crime lab were investigating a crime scene in the suburbs outside the city.  
  
"It looks like she didn't even put up a fight."  
  
"Yea, it's like she just sat here while the attacker killed her. She has nothing under her nails, no bruises on her knuckles, nothing."  
  
Nick put his arm around his fiancée's waist. He knew this was affecting her.  
  
"Do you think she knew her attacker?" She looked up at him. Nick saw the pain in her soft, brown eyes.  
  
"I don't know, but Sara, are you sure you can do this?"  
  
One thing was for sure, Nick wasn't sure if he could, let alone Sara.  
  
She let out a sigh. "Yea, I can't let my feelings affect my work."  
  
She walked out of his embrace and kneeled over the body. It was a 15-year- old brunette, who oddly enough looked similar to Sara.  
  
It was unnerving to them both.  
  
Sara snapped pictures of the body. A contusion on the forehead, a long and deep cut that ran across her chest and the slit throat. But even with the openings in her skin, there was still very little blood to be found on and around the victim.  
  
"Do we have an ID?"  
  
"No," replied Nick. "She is a Jane Doe."  
  
He gave an involuntary shudder. Not only because of the cold night air that whipped around them as they worked on the suburban sidewalk, but also thinking about what if was Sara laying in the gutter along side a road. He didn't want to lose her after just proposing to her on New Years.  
  
He had never felt so deeply in love with any other woman, and now he knew that Sara had never felt like that with any man after she had said yes to him.  
  
He never wanted her to leave his sight, but she did every morning when she returned to her apartment. Even though he asked, she wouldn't live with him until after marriage. He admired her morals. But even though they didn't live together, they certainly were at each other's residence a lot.  
  
Nick would have been going over to her apartment in the morning if he didn't have to help a friend move out of his house. But he would see her again tomorrow night.  
  
He watched her gather evidence, as he was lost in his thoughts.  
  
"Are you going to help me or not?" She gave him a mischievous look  
  
"What?"  
  
"You are standing there just looking at me. I could use your help. You have the rest of our lives to look at me."  
  
She walked over to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a kiss.  
  
After she released him from her grip, she let her fingers linger across his chest as she went back finish collecting the evidence.  
  
He shuddered again.  
  
"I thought you just said you don't want your feelings to affect your work."  
  
"I meant different feelings when I said that. I think these feelings enhance my work."  
  
She gave him another look.  
  
"Come on, let's finish this. I need to get out of here."  
  
Nick and Sara collected the rest of the evidence and headed back to the lab after they finished.  
  
They saw the coroner and he told them that the vic had been dead for about two days and the slash in her throat was what caused her to die.  
  
But this was all of the information they had now. All the evidence they had collected led to dead ends, and she was still a Jane Doe.  
  
"What do we do now?"  
  
"I don't know, but I am going to see Greg and see if he got anything from the vic's clothes."  
  
"Ok Nick, I'll be in the computer lab." Sara turned to leave, but before she could Nick held her back and pulled her into a great big bear hug.  
  
"I will always be here for you Sara. No matter what." Then as soon as Nick had pulled her into the hug he let go and walked towards the DNA lab.  
  
Sara stood there rooted to the spot for a minute and watched Nick walk out of sight.  
  
'I am really lucky to have someone like Nick' she thought.  
  
She stood there for a minute more thinking about Nick until her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.  
  
"Sara? Earth to Sara, are you there?"  
  
She turned to see Warrick.  
  
"Oh, hey. Is something wrong?"  
  
"No you're just standing in the middle of the hallway, stopping traffic, with a sappy look on your face. Maybe I should be the on asking that question. Are you doing ok on your case with Nick?"  
  
"Yea, sorry if I worried you, I was just lost in thought. Oh and the case? We have a lot of dead ends. Nick is at DNA seeing if Greg got anything off the vic's clothes. I was just on my way to the computer lab to look through missing persons."  
  
"Are you sure you are ok?"  
  
"Yea I'm fine. I have to go. Good luck on your case."  
  
"You too!" Warrick called after her as she walked down the hall.  
  
*~*~*~  
  
"I didn't find any DNA on the clothes, but I did find some fibers. They look like they could be from the interior of a car."  
  
Greg showed Nick the fibers.  
  
"I sent a sample over to Trace to confirm my suspicion."  
  
"Thanks. I have to go update Sara. I'll see you later."  
  
"Alright, bye"  
  
Greg returned back to processing evidence from Grissom and Catherine's case as Nick walked out of the lab in search of Sara.  
  
It wasn't long before he found her in the computer lab searching through missing persons. He looked at his watch. The shift was well over and they were both still there.  
  
"Hey Sara," he put his arms around her shoulders and across her chest, "It's time to go."  
  
"I'm almost done." She murmured back.  
  
"No I think your done now."  
  
He bent over and shut off the computer she was working on.  
  
"Hey, why did you do that?"  
  
"Because the shift is over and it's time to go." He kissed her on the cheek.  
  
"Ok, I'm coming." Nick released her from his grasp and watched her stretch.  
  
She got up and held his hand as they walked down to the locker room. They found Catherine getting ready to go herself.  
  
"Hey guys. You're here late. Tough case?"  
  
"Yea, the worst. And you?"  
  
"Double homicide. It looks like they were killed then robbed. Almost nothing was left in the house."  
  
Catherine closed her locker.  
  
"I better go. Grissom's waiting for me out in the parking lot. We're going out to breakfast. Good luck with your case."  
  
"Thanks you too."  
  
The young couple watched her leave. Then Sara spoke up.  
  
"I am so glad those two finally got together. They spent a year not acknowledging that they had feelings for each other."  
  
"Yea, but just about everyone felt they same way once we finally admitted that we were in love."  
  
He closed his locker then leaned over and brought her into a passionate kiss.  
  
"I have to go, but I will see you tonight. Right?"  
  
"Always"  
  
"Nick left Sara standing in locker room gathering her things. His thoughts were all of her as he walked to his car, but not on the one thought he should have been thinking.  
  
What if he didn't see Sara that night?  
  
What is he never saw Sara again???  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Wow! I'm done the first chapter! I bet you are all wondering what the Burning truth is. Don't worry. You will find out next chapter. Please r/r!  
  
~Jax 


	2. The Burning

Hey guys! It's me again. Well, I got a great response on the first chapter. I want to thank everyone who reviewed.  
  
I do have some bad news though. With school starting back tomorrow, plus major projects I have to do, plus mid terms coming up, this may be my last post for around three weeks. I will really try to post sooner than that, but bear with me. I am sure everyone here has either gone through mid terms, or are going to go through them soon. So please no flame!!!!  
  
I got the reviews saying that you want more G/C. Unfortunately, that couple is on the side and I won't focus on them that much.  
  
r/r!!!  
  
Disclaimer: Once again, they are not mine. I just like to take them out to play with for a while them put them back after I'm done. But that might not be for a long time. "Steve" is mine but he's not much to brag about.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 2: The Burning  
  
"Hey do you need a hand with that?"  
  
"Yea, thanks. After we're finished with this, let's take a break."  
  
"Alright,"  
  
Nick Stokes went over to his friend, Steve, and helped him carry the box upstairs. They put it down in the bedroom, and walked back down to the kitchen.  
  
"I can't thank you enough Nick for helping me move."  
  
"Your welcome, anything for a friend."  
  
Nick poured himself a glass of water. He looked at his watch. It was 1:00.  
  
"Hey Steve, is phone connected yet?"  
  
"Yeah, you can call someone if you want."  
  
"Thanks. I forgot my cell at home."  
  
He leaned over the counter and grabbed the cordless phone. Nick dialed the familiar number and listened to the ring tone.  
  
Once  
  
Twice  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Sara"  
  
"Hey Nick. Are you still at Steve's house?"  
  
"Yea, we are taking a break and I just wanted to call. I missed you."  
  
"Same here. It's weird coming home and being alone. So any other reason you called?"  
  
"What I just can't call to say that I miss the future Mrs. Stokes?"  
  
"Come on Nick. There is something else. I can tell in your voice."  
  
"Ok, you got me. It's nothing big. I just wanted to know if you wanted to meet me somewhere after I am done here. I should be finished about 4:00. I would give us time to do something before work."  
  
"Any other day I would Nick, but this case is getting to me and I was going to go in early to work on it, before I get to involved. The sooner it is over, the better."  
  
"Ok," replied Nick a little disappointed.  
  
"But I'll see you tonight right?"  
  
"Yeah, I just wanted-"  
  
"Hey Nick, I'm sorry to cut this short but someone's at the door. I'll call you later Ok?"  
  
"Alright, I love you. I'll see you later. Bye"  
  
"I love you to. Bye."  
  
Nick put down the phone.  
  
"Girl trouble? Cause if they're is-"  
  
"I wouldn't ask you. You have gotten your sorry ass kicked out of every relationship you ever had. And no, there is no trouble. Sara is just a little emotional right now with this case we're on."  
  
"Sure."  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
*A Few Hours Later*  
  
A red-faced Nick walked into his apartment. He had been at Steve's moving stuff around for hours. He desperately needed a shower before work, and a nap. He didn't have any sleep today.  
  
He threw his stuff down on the couch and went over to his answering machine. He pressed the play button.  
  
A familiar voice made its way into Nick's ears.  
  
"Hey Nick, it's Grissom. I don't know if you have seen or heard the news lately. I tried to get you on your cell but all I got was your voice mail. I hope your ok. Call me when you get this."  
  
Nick heard the machine stop and rewind. Grissom's voice was really solemn.  
  
He went back over to his couch and sat down. He fished for his controller between the seat cushions. When Nick found it he turned on the TV. The first thing that popped up was the sports channel.  
  
Nick flipped down until he got to the local news.  
  
"For those of you joining us, our top story this afternoon, a four alarm fire rages through an apartment complex over in Spring Valley on Spring Mountain Road."  
  
That was the last thing Nick heard. His body stiffened in fear.  
  
The news anchor had just described exactly where Sara lived.  
  
He picked up the phone from the table in front of him and dialed Grissom's cell phone.  
  
Once  
  
Twice  
  
Three times  
  
"Grissom,"  
  
Nick's voice was shaky  
  
"It's me,"  
  
"Nick? Are you ok? Do you know what happened?"  
  
"It's her isn't it?"  
  
"I'm not sure, but it doesn't look good. I'm heading over to CSI to see what's going on."  
  
"I'm coming too."  
  
"No, you stay home."  
  
"I'm coming in Grissom."  
  
"No, you-"  
  
"I'm coming."  
  
Nick hung up on Grissom. He put the phone down. His worse fear was coming true.  
  
He grabbed his stuff and headed back out to his car. It was only a twenty- minute ride to the lab, but for Nick, it felt like an eternity.  
  
He wondered why no tears came to his eyes. This was the saddest he had ever felt, yet no tears.  
  
He saw the smoke against the clear Nevada sky.  
  
Eventually, Nick reached CSI. He saw Grissom's car, Catherine's, and Warrick's, but not Sara's.  
  
He got out of his car and made his way into the lab. Nick walked down the hall to Grissom's office not without looks from every person he passed, but he didn't notice any of them. His hand reached out to the cold metal of the doorknob to Grissom's office.  
  
He saw three of his co-workers turn to look at him as he entered.  
  
Tears streaked Catherine's face. Even Warrick's and Grissom's eyes were watery.  
  
"It's her, isn't it?"  
  
"Nick, I'm sorry. We just got told that it was her building, but we still don't know if she was there."  
  
"What time?"  
  
"We heard that it started around twelve."  
  
"She was there. I talked to her before-"  
  
Nick turned and left. He could hear Catherine starting up a new batch of tears as he closed the door behind him. His body was numb. The tears he wanted still didn't come. It was as if he didn't believe she was gone. But she was.  
  
(A/N: Don't bring out the tissues yet!)  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
*A Week Later*  
  
Nick stands in his black tux, as he watches them lower the coffin into the ground, but it didn't have her in it. They never found her remains. They didn't find much of anything after the fire had been put out and the building was ash. Only a few people had died since many were still at work.  
  
Nick knew that she was gone, but could shake the feeling that she wasn't. All the facts said she wasn't coming back. Eyewitnesses said that the fire had even started in her apartment and no one had seen her leave.  
  
Everything said that she was there, yet still no remains.  
  
Day shift had investigated the fire and found that a gas explosion that had indeed started in her apartment had caused it.  
  
Nick still hadn't cried since that day. He didn't have the strength.  
  
He watched as the casket had finally been put to rest. Nick couldn't watch anymore. He turned and left without one word. He needed to get away from the eyes. All of the eyes that looked at him with pity and sorrow, like they knew what Nick was going through, but none of them did.  
  
Nick got into his car and headed home. All he wanted was to rest.  
  
To sleep.  
  
To wish it all away.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
*Meanwhile*  
  
She didn't know how she had gotten into this mess.  
  
She had just gotten off the phone with Nick and went to answer the door. He attacked her. Tied her hands and gagged her.  
  
She tried to fight back but it was no use.  
  
Then he forced her down the side stairs with a gun to her back out into the alley where the dumpsters for her building were.  
  
She didn't know who he was or why he was doing this to her.  
  
He tied her onto the backseat of his car, which was parked in the shadows of the alley. Then threw a blanket over her.  
  
She knew no one had seen what had happened.  
  
He left her laying on the backseat in the car for what seemed like half hour. When he came back, he started the car and drove out of the alley.  
  
He never said a word.  
  
She couldn't see where they were going, but they drove for hours. The ropes that bound her to the seat burned her skin. She was unbelievably hot  
  
Then he stopped the car and got out. He opened the door near her head. He leaned over her, took off the blanket and undid the ropes. Then he dragged her out of the car.  
  
They were in the desert.  
  
"Get up." He pointed the gun at her again.  
  
Her legs wobbled. She looked around. All she saw was a dilapidated house. There was no other civilization around, just sand. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her towards the shack. She tried to scream. Tears fell from her eyes.  
  
He led her through the front door.  
  
He pulled her down a set of stairs. Then he threw her to the ground.  
  
She hit the ground hard on her shoulder and cried out into the cloth in her mouth.  
  
He leaned over her once again. He grabbed her wrists that were still tied together.  
  
She struggled against him but with no avail.  
  
She watched him work on the ropes that bound her.  
  
When he was finished, the rope between her wrists was about shoulders length apart.  
  
She watched as he then tied ropes around her ankles the same length as the rope around her wrists.  
  
Then he reached to her face and undid the gag. He put it in his back pocket and headed back up the stairs.  
  
She sat up  
  
"Why?"  
  
He stopped and turned to look at her.  
  
"You should know Sara."  
  
He turned and walked up the stairs, then closed the door and locked it.  
  
  
  
That was a week ago.  
  
Sara still sat in the dark basement day after day, wondering if anyone would find her and get her out.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Whoa! Big twist!  
  
This was The Burning, do they learn the Truth?  
  
So that's the end of chapter 2. Everyone thinks Sara is dead, but she's not. Do they ever find her?  
  
Please r/r!  
  
~Jax 


	3. The Truth

Ok well, I'm writing this in the dark of night 'cause my parents are all over me with midterms coming up, so I am trying to get this out before it becomes unbearable.  
  
So I am glad for all the great reviews but I am a little confused with some. The summary says N/S, so why are people flaming that it's not G/S? IF YOU DON"T LIKE N/S, THEN DON"T READ IT!!! Don't flame at me when I tell you in the summary that it's Nick/Sara. It's not rocket science people!!  
  
Thank you to all of the dedicated N/S shippers who review for me! Keep reading mine, and I'll read yours!  
  
Please r/r!!  
  
Disclaimer: The character's from the show known, as CSI and all related items are not mine. They belong to CBS, Jerry, Atlantis..yada, yada, yada. There is also no money being made from this, but if the guys from CBS every read this and like it and want to turn it into an episode, or CSI movie, by all means, take it!  
  
Oh, and I don't own Ziploc either.  
  
Now that I have that out of the way, we left Nick and the rest mourning over Sara's death, but Sara isn't dead, do they find her?  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 3: The Truth  
  
*About a Month Later*  
  
Sara sat on the hay bed in the corner of her prison. She leaned up against the cold rock wall behind her.  
  
The rusted metal from the cuffs around her wrists, rubbed her skin raw. She remembered when he came down and found her trying to take the ropes, which had originally been there, off. That's when he forced her into the chains.  
  
Sara looked over at the one light source in the room. It was a small window in the bathroom across from where she sat. The sky had turned an orange color, as the sun was about to set on another long day of imprisonment.  
  
Tears once again flowed to Sara's eyes as she thought about Nick. The ring, that had represented their soon-to-be-marriage, was now tarnishing on her finger from her constant touch.  
  
She didn't no how much longer she could last without him and wondered why no one had found her yet.  
  
Sara lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. She tried to remember the last time they were together. She sobbed softly into the hay.  
  
Then, Sara heard a creak come from the top of the stairs. He was coming again for the third time that day, just like every other day for the past month. She wiped away her tears.  
  
Sara still didn't know who her capture was.  
  
She watched as he made his way down the stairs. As soon as he reached the bottom, he walked towards her. He stopped in front of her and threw her a paper bag.  
  
She, of course, knew what it was. Sara sat up and opened the bag and found like all the other times, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a bottle of water on the side.  
  
He sat on the floor in front of her watching as she started eating, like he did every other time.  
  
Sara took her time eating the food that he had given her.  
  
When he had first come down to give her the sandwich and water, she didn't eat it out of fear that he had drugged it or poisoned it or something. When he told her he wouldn't leave until she ate, Sara had finally given in.  
  
Since then, everyday, three times a day, he came down and gave her the same thing in the same way.  
  
He waited until she had finished and took the bag and bottle and went back upstairs.  
  
'After I get out of here, I am never eating PB&J again!' Sara vowed to herself.  
  
The chains around her ankles rattled as she got up and walked over to the bathroom window. Sara looked out the window and saw the sand blowing around in the light of the setting sun.  
  
"I miss and love you Nick. Please help me."  
  
Sara sighed as she turned around and headed back to the hay.  
  
She lay down once again. Sara looked up at the ceiling thinking about nothing in particular.  
  
Suddenly her stomach felt like it had been ripped from her body. Sara yelled out in pain.  
  
'He did it! He finally did it! He poisoned me!'  
  
She cried out again.  
  
The pain grew so great that it caused Sara to lose consciousness.  
  
The room grew silent. Sara stopped moving around as she was now in a very deep sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
He had been listening from upstairs. When he heard her screams stop, that's when he knew it had worked. He grabbed three Ziploc bags, a jar, and a kitchen knife before heading downstairs.  
  
It was time to play with their minds.  
  
It was time to make her pay.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
*Few Days Later*  
  
It was 6 in the morning by the time Nick had left CSI. He had been working on a case and was prepared for more overtime, until he had walked into Grissom's office and caught him kissing Catherine.  
  
Then he couldn't handle it anymore. He walked out and closed the door as quiet as possible.  
  
Nick left work after that. It had been a little over a month since it happened, and it was still hard to see people being affectionate towards each other without thinking of Sara.  
  
His heart felt like it wasn't there anymore. Everything he came in contact with started suffering, his work, his friends, anything around him could feel his pain. Nick hadn't smiled since.  
  
He got in his car and started driving. Some how, Nick ended up at the one spot he had dreaded visiting. It was the same spot Sara and he used to come to watch the sunrise in the morning.  
  
Nick got out of his car and watched the sun reach out over the horizon of the desert. For the first time since it happened. It didn't seem the same without her.  
  
The little hope that he had held in his heart was slowly slipping away.  
  
He waited a few more minutes as the sunshine reached over the edge. Nick got back in his car and closed his eyes. It wasn't long before he had fallen asleep.  
  
* * * *  
  
*A Couple Hours Later*  
  
Nick jerked awake. He looked and saw that he was still in the same place, yet the sun was far overhead.  
  
He shook the sleepiness from his eyes and started the car. He made his way home in record time. On his way up to his apartment he grabbed his mail from the mailbox. He received a few bills, junk mail, and a small package. He looked at it. It had no return address.  
  
He tucked the mail under his arm as he walked up the two flights of stairs to his apartment. Nick unlocked his door and pushed through. He put his things on the counter and went over to his answering machine.  
  
It had become a habit to check his messages as soon as he walked through the door.  
  
He saw that he had only one message. Nick hit the play button.  
  
Nick froze when he heard the voice come out of the black box.  
  
"Hey Nick, It's Grissom. I tried you on your cell but you didn't answer. I need you to call me as soon as you get this message. I really need to talk to you. Call me on my cell."  
  
The machine stopped and rewound. Nick stood there for a minute. Last time Grissom had called him a month ago, it was a life stopping moment, and this message didn't sound to cheerful.  
  
'Calm down Nick." He told himself. "It's probably something about the case, or something else.'  
  
His fingers trembled as he dialed Grissom's number.  
  
He heard the ring tone.  
  
"Grissom."  
  
"Hey, it's me."  
  
"Nick?"  
  
"Yea."  
  
"Where have you been?"  
  
"I just got home. I was out driving around and went..somewhere. I fell asleep in the car."  
  
"Did you get your mail yet?"  
  
"Yea, why?"  
  
"Did you get a small package?"  
  
"Uh huh, why?"  
  
"I'm guessing you didn't open it."  
  
"Grissom, what's this about?"  
  
"I need you to put on some gloves and bring the package to the lab. Don't open it! I will explain everything when you get her ok?"  
  
"Grissom what's going-"  
  
"Just do it, ok?"  
  
"Alright, whatever, I'll see you in ten. Bye"  
  
* * * *  
  
Grissom hung up his cell and looked over at Catherine.  
  
"Why didn't you tell him?"  
  
"I didn't think he needed to know yet."  
  
"I have no idea how this is going to affect him. When I opened it, my stomach jumped into my throat. So do we really know it's a match?"  
  
"Yea, for Warrick and I too. I don't even know what Nick got. I hope it's better than yours."  
  
Catherine walked over to Grissom and placed her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"Grissom, I don't know what to think. Part of me is happy, but part of me is terrified. I can only worry more for Nick at this point. I don't want to go through anything like it again."  
  
Grissom kissed her on the forehead. She looked up at him.  
  
"Cath, I don't want to either, but if we have to, we will together. Let's just think of trying to do our best, and not of what we may find."  
  
She nodded her head and clung even more tightly to him.  
  
He stood there comforting her for a few minutes.  
  
Her tears stained his shirt.  
  
There was a soft knock on the door.  
  
Catherine wiped her eyes pulled out of Grissom's arms.  
  
"Come in."  
  
The door slowly opened to show a forlorn Warrick.  
  
"Greg found epithelials on the strings around the packages. He is running them through CODIS."  
  
"Thanks for letting us know. Hopefully we'll get something."  
  
"I'm going to the break room for coffee. Do you want me to bring you any?"  
  
"Yes. Thank you."  
  
"Catherine?"  
  
She nodded in response.  
  
Warrick slowly backed out of the room and shut the door.  
  
Grissom turned back to Catherine. He pulled her into a hug.  
  
"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."  
  
"I know I shouldn't, but when I thought we lost her, it felt like I had lost Lindsey, that I lost a daughter. I felt that I should have tried harder to protect her and that I wished I had a better relationship with her."  
  
"I think all of us felt that way, Cath, but you can't beat yourself up over it. At least not right now when we are going to need you the most."  
  
She nodded in reply.  
  
Another knock came from the door.  
  
They pulled apart once again.  
  
"Come in."  
  
The door opened.  
  
"Ok Grissom what's this about? I want to know." Nick held the package in his gloved hands.  
  
"Calm down, alright, I do owe you an explanation. Let's go to layout room two."  
  
The three of them walked out of the room and down the hall to the layout room.  
  
Nick walked in and saw things scattered over the lighted table. Three brown boxes laid out opened. They seemed exactly like the one he had received.  
  
He looked closely at the contents that lay before him.  
  
He saw two bags, one filled with brown hair, the other filled with it looked like nail clippings.  
  
Then he saw a sealed jar with what seemed to be a pint of blood inside.  
  
He also saw laid out beside the boxes, three papers. Two had the letter "a" on them, and the other had a letter "r" on it.  
  
"Grissom I don't understand."  
  
"You will soon. I need you to very carefully open what you have in your hand."  
  
Nick looked at Grissom and Catherine. They were grasping each other's hand, looking at his every move wide-eyed, holding their breath.  
  
Nick tried to prepare himself for whatever was in the box, but it was hard to do since he wasn't sure what to expect.  
  
He slowly undid the twine wrapped around the box.  
  
Grissom held out an evidence bag and Nick slowly slipped the snake-like rope into it.  
  
He gently folded back the brown paper. Behind it was a colorless box.  
  
Nick tore off the tape from the top two flaps. Inside, there was an envelope and a Ziploc baggie.  
  
He picked up both items and winced when he saw the contents of the baggie.  
  
Catherine shrieked in shock and Grissom gritted his teeth.  
  
Nick held in his hand a small circular piece of human flesh.  
  
(A/N: Got this idea from the author, Evidence, and the story Day by Day.)  
  
"What's going on Grissom?"  
  
"Uh Nick, open the envelope and I'm sure it will help you figure out what's happening."  
  
He gave Grissom a questioning look. He set the bag down on the lit table and started to open the envelope.  
  
Out fell a small square of paper.  
  
" 'S'?" Nick looked over to the other pieces.  
  
The realization hit him.  
  
"Sara?"  
  
Catherine and Grissom nodded at him.  
  
He looked over once again at the bag.  
  
"Is that..?" Nick got a sickening feeling in his stomach. He fought back tears.  
  
"We won't know exactly until we test it,  
  
But it doesn't look good."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
*Back in the Middle of Nowhere*  
  
Sara's eyes fluttered open. Pain ran through her body. She looked around.  
  
The room was dark. She moved to get up but a sharp pain surged from her side. Sara reached down and found a large circular wound on her side. Blood ran down her skin and had stained her shirt.  
  
'Shit,' she thought as she ran her fingers through her hair only to find it was now an inch shorter on one side.  
  
'This isn't good.'  
  
Sara rubbed her eyes. She felt her nails scratch against her skin. She looked at her fingers and saw that someone had cut them oddly.  
  
'This is not happening'  
  
Sara's body ached incredibly.  
  
She had been this maniac's captive for over a month.  
  
It was so much pain.  
  
Too much pain  
  
Sara thought to herself, how she might never see her life again, her friends, family, and Nick.  
  
She couldn't take it anymore. Sara laid down and waited  
  
She waited for darkness.  
  
She waited for obscurity.  
  
She waited for death..  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Whew! This chapter took me a long time. Spending all those nights hidden in the corner with the laptop hoping my parents didn't find me. (I still have midterms) Pray I don't get caught!!  
  
Hope you enjoyed this. Sorry to all those who have been waiting.  
  
Please r/r!  
  
Go Eagles!!!  
  
~Jax 


	4. Doomed

All right, well I wish I could have gotten a better response for my last chapter. Maybe I should change the summary. I don't know but I guess it doesn't matter because it's what I like right?  
  
Well if you read this, please review!  
  
This is for all of the dedicated Nick and Sara shippers out there! Thanks for staying behind me!  
  
Disclaimer: There is no money made off this story and I don't own CSI, I just love the show and the characters beyond all belief. It's true! Ask anyone who knows me!  
  
Now back to our previously scheduled program...  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 4: Doomed  
  
It was almost too hard to believe.  
  
Nick sat in the break room with a cup of coffee in his hand thinking about what exactly had just happened.  
  
Catherine sat next to him rubbing his back with her motherly touch.  
  
"It's just so hard to believe. I thought she was gone forever, then this happens and now she could be in the hands of a maniac. Not just for a few days, but she has been there for a month. There is no telling what the guy has done to her or is doing."  
  
Nick shifted the cup nervously around in his hands. The steaming hot liquid dripped down the sides onto his hands, leaving red marks behind.  
  
Catherine reached over and took it from his shaky fingers. She used a napkin and tenderly wiped off the coffee from his skin.  
  
She gazed into his face and tried to read what he was thinking, but the look he had on was one she had never seen before.  
  
His eyes were glazed but not wet. He bit his bottom lip and his eyebrows were turned downward as if he was angry but confused at the same time.  
  
She studied him for a while more until Greg burst through the door breathless.  
  
"You guys! I got a huge break! I ran the epithelials through CODIS and got a hit!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Who is it?"  
  
"A man named Jordan Rykins." Greg read from the paper. "Thrown in jail for two counts of attempted homicide in San Francisco. He was released a few months ago. Guess who put him there?"  
  
"Are you kidding me?"  
  
"No, Sara sent him to the slammer it looks like in her first year on the job."  
  
"So do we have anything else besides a name?"  
  
"An address."  
  
Greg gave Nick the paper.  
  
Nick glanced at it for a minute then stood up and ran out of the room and down the hall.  
  
Catherine, stunned only for a second at Nick's behavior, stood up as well and tried to catch up with him.  
  
"Greg, go find Grissom and tell him where we're going." Catherine shouted over her shoulder as she ran full speed down the hall.  
  
She caught up with Nick as he was grabbing his kit from the locker room.  
  
"You.. are not going... alone." said Catherine a little breathless.  
  
"Yes I am."  
  
"Oh no you're not! It's not like you were the only person who cared for her. We all did."  
  
Nick stared at her. Catherine regretted the statement.  
  
"I mean we do care for her. Look, I am going with you and that's final. Besides, it wouldn't be smart if you went alone. That psycho could be there and if you were alone it would be easier for him to hurt you."  
  
"Cath, he can't hurt me any more than he already has."  
  
"Nick, he hurt all of us." She put her hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's go find the person we care for."  
  
Catherine grabbed her kit from her locker and followed Nick out to the parked Tahoe's in the lot. They put their stuff into the nearest one and headed out.  
  
Nick drove intensely down the Las Vegas roadways trying to find the address Greg had give him.  
  
5 minutes into the drive, Catherine's cell phone rang.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Catherine, it's Grissom. Greg told me that he got an address on our suspect and you're heading over there with Nick." She could detect a hint of annoyance in his voice but that was a small percentage compared to the worry she heard.  
  
"Yeah, about that. I'm sorry I didn't tell you myself but Nick was going to go off by himself so I went with him."  
  
"All right, just be really careful ok?"  
  
"We will be, Gris, I promise."  
  
"I don't want to lose you. I love you way too much."  
  
She smiled.  
  
"The feeling is mutual. I'll see you when we get back. Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
She hung up the phone and placed it back inside her pocket.  
  
"He really loves you a lot, huh?"  
  
She turned to look at him slightly surprised by the question.  
  
His eyes were focused on the road like he hadn't said anything at all. Silence followed. It continued until they had reached the address.  
  
"Here we are."  
  
The two CSI's looked up at the dilapidated building. Nick turned off the car and sat looking into space for a moment. Catherine placed her hand on his shoulder.  
  
The touch only lasted for a few seconds then they got out and got their kits. They slowly ascended the stairs to the front door. Nick reached the landing first followed closely behind by Catherine. He took in a deep breath then slowly exhaled.  
  
Nick looked over at Catherine. She had her hand steadily on her gun. Nick took another deep breath and raised his fist to the door.  
  
"Hello? Mr. Rykins? It's the Las Vegas Crime Lab. We have a few questions."  
  
They waited a few seconds with no answer.  
  
A ringing sound filled the air. Both of them jumped two feet. They realized it was Catherine's cell phone to blame.  
  
She quickly answered it.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Cath, It's me again. Brass got a warrant so we can search his place so you can collect evidence."  
  
"Ok, thanks. It doesn't seem like he's here so we're goin' in."  
  
"Be careful."  
  
"I'll see you later."  
  
Catherine closed her phone and turned towards Nick.  
  
"We can go in."  
  
He nodded in response and opened his kit. He took out a pick and went on to unlock the door.  
  
He heard a click and turned the handle. A musty smell filled Nick's nose. He heard Catherine take the safety of her gun.  
  
Nick closed his kit and followed suite. He followed Catherine through the doorway.  
  
"Mr. Rykins are you here?"  
  
After a few seconds of silence, Nick and Catherine separated and scanned the house for any signs of life.  
  
Nick scoured the bedroom and Catherine looked around the kitchen. There was hardly anything in the cabinets. Catherine pondered this. It was like the man didn't live there. The counters were dusty and the small appliances were rusted.  
  
Catherine traveled over to the refrigerator. She opened the door. Almost nothing graced the shelves of the cooling unit except one small envelope on the middle shelve.  
  
Catherine snapped a picture then gingerly lifted the object.  
  
She stared at it.  
  
'To the friends of Sara Sidle'  
  
"Nick! Come look at this!"  
  
She heard quick footsteps coming in her direction.  
  
"What? What is it? What?"  
  
Catherine responded in a whispery voice.  
  
"Look."  
  
She handed him the envelope.  
  
He read the front. Then he stared at her for a moment then back at the letter. Nick turned it over and started to run his finger under the flap.  
  
He pulled out the paper, which had lain inside. Nick unfolded it and started to read.  
  
Catherine watched as her friend's face turned pure white and his hand that held the letter started to shake.  
  
"Nick?"  
  
He tore his line of vision from the letter to her face.  
  
Catherine watched as one whispered word escaped his white lips.  
  
"Doomed."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Wow! Sorry for the shortness but, what a cliffhanger! I'm really sorry about that, but it's a way to keep you interested eh?? *wink* *evil laugh*  
  
I don't know how the whole warrant thing works if the CSI's can go in and gather evidence without the actual warrant and I don't really expect Nick and Catherine to go out alone without Brass or someone and not get like fined or suspended or something but, whatever right???  
  
Oh and I need a major favor from someone! I am having MAJOR problems writing one of my stories. You might have heard of it. It's called Survivor: Las Vegas Crime Lab. I need a coauthor for that. So if you have watched the show, like to see Nick and Sara together, and can write humor, PLEASE tell me in a review or email me! Thank you so much!!!  
  
Thanks to all the reviewers from last chapter!  
  
Please review this one!!!!  
  
~Jax 


	5. Oh Brother

Hey it's me again!! But of course you knew that already!! Here it is the next installment in the series I like to call The Burning Truth. It's not the last one so perk up, I got a new one coming soon, to a fanfiction site near you!!  
  
Please r/r!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own em' and I think I have said that enough times already!! I am starting to sound like a broken record. I don't own em'. I don't own em'. I don't own em'...  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 5: Oh Brother  
  
Sara's hopes in anyone finding her at this point were dwindling. She had this feeling in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't exactly explain. To her it was more like a bug that just wouldn't leave her alone. No matter what she did, she just couldn't shake it.  
  
The feeling was only her emotional pain. It was almost nothing compared to her physical pain, yet strangely worse.  
  
Sara listened to the creaking of the floor above her. He was moving around. All she could do was wonder what he was doing. He hadn't been down to feed her in two days and her hunger was definitely beginning to affect her thinking process.  
  
She felt like she could just lie down and die, and she wouldn't have to go through any more pain  
  
Her thoughts turned towards Nick. Whenever she started feeling this way, she thought of him. What he would do if she, in fact, did die. Sara thought about what Nick would say to her: Don't give up. People out there love you, especially me. Please don't give up.  
  
She wanted to believe that is what he would say, if he thought she was alive. She knew the Nick, along with the others had probably lost hope in finding her. She had been gone for a long time, almost an eternity to her.  
  
  
  
Sara heard the creaking above her moving towards the door at the top of the stairs. She heard the hinges squeak.  
  
Her muscles tensed. In a sitting position, Sara inched back into the corner of the room. She felt the cold wall against her back.  
  
His feet appeared coming down the stairs.  
  
Her heart rate quickened.  
  
He reached the bottom.  
  
Her hands started to shake.  
  
He walked towards her.  
  
She held her breath.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
*Back in Las Vegas*  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
  
  
"Your friend is doomed."  
  
  
  
Nick whispered the four horrible words. The paper shook in his hands.  
  
Catherine reached out and took the paper from him. She looked at the words. They were made up of various cut-out letters from magazines.  
  
Both CSI's were immersed in the finding. Too immersed to hear anyone come up behind them.  
  
"Find anything?"  
  
Nick and Catherine spun around startled. Both had looks of fear on their faces. They relaxed when they were met with the familiar bodies of their co-worker and boss.  
  
"Holy shit! You scared the hell out of us." Nick directed this at Warrick who was the one who had spoken.  
  
"Sorry guys." Warrick grinned sheepishly, "But did you find anything?"  
  
"Yea this," Catherine handed the letter over the newcomers. They looked at it in disbelief.  
  
"Where did you find this?" Grissom looked at the two younger over the tops of his glasses.  
  
"I found it in the refrigerator. It was the only thing there. I don't think he lives here anymore because almost nothing is in the cabinets and the appliances are rusted."  
  
"It looks like we are just about back at square one."  
  
"Damn."  
  
Grissom's cell phone went off. He answered after the first ring. The subordinates listened in on the conversation.  
  
"Grissom....really?....where?...that would be the perfect place....same...ok, I'll meet you in 10, thanks."  
  
He closed his phone.  
  
"That was Brass. He did a background check on the suspect. It seems he has a brother who was also convicted of murder by Sara and was sentenced to a life term, but committed suicide in his cell. Brass then checked the brother out and found a property purchased in his name, outside Tonopah."  
  
"That's all desert out there. The perfect place to hide."  
  
"Catherine and Warrick, you stay here and finish processing the house and then go back to the lab and go through everything that we have processed so far. Nick you are coming with me to meet Brass back at the lab, then we are heading out there to see what we can find, ok everyone?"  
  
Nods come from around the room.  
  
Grissom turned to face Nick.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
No sooner than he had said the words, Grissom and Nick were out the door and driving back to the lab. The trip took ten minutes. They met Brass outside in the parking lot standing next to his unmarked Taurus.  
  
Grissom pulled up next to him.  
  
"You have the directions?"  
  
"Yeah are you going to follow me?"  
  
"Yeah, let's go."  
  
Brass got into his car and headed out onto the street followed closely by Grissom and Nick.  
  
It wasn't long until they had pulled onto I-95 heading north into Nye County. Neither said a word for a good two hours. They would be pulling up to their destination soon.  
  
Only once had Grissom's phone gone off on the trip. It had been Catherine saying that they ran the envelope through QD and it matched the addresses on the packages, so it had indeed been written by the same person, most likely a Jordan Rykins.  
  
By the time Grissom had gotten off the phone, the two cars were now off the main road and were on a dirt one. Grissom had trouble seeing what was in front of them because of the dust that was kicked up from Brass's car, but kept the SUV in check.  
  
Nick had been preoccupied most of the trip with thoughts of Sara and now as they were getting closer, he gripped the door handle until his knuckles became white as he had never felt so much fear before. It wasn't fear for himself, but for Sara more. He was afraid of what they would find, if they were too late.  
  
Through the dust, the two CSI's could see the outline of a wooden shack not to far from them. It was in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing but desert. Grissom slowed the vehicle down when he saw the brake lights of the Taurus in front of him glow through the dust. They soon stopped all together and slowly got out.  
  
Grissom's mind was also occupied with pictures of his friend but not so much that he didn't have a chance to curse at himself for wearing black pants and shirt.  
  
The sun beat down hazily on them making it almost impossible to see without squinting. Nick looked at the sun as if it was mocking him.  
  
The shack was made of old wood that had become bleached in the sun and it looked like the roof was starting to cave in. It seemed that if there was just a slight breeze the whole thing would topple over.  
  
Brass walked over to them and motioned for them to follow him to the screen door. They got only as far as the steps up to the door before they were stopped in their tracks by a single sound. The sound that they had all been dreading.  
  
One single gunshot rang out over the open desert.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Ok another kinda short one but hey what a way to leave you all hanging!! Smirk  
  
I'll post the next one soon! I promise! Scout's honor! (That is if I was a scout)  
  
Please read and review this and don't hesitate to click on my new story called "He Thought He Knew Her". Please? Pretty please with sugar, and spice and everything nice on top. Please??  
  
Thanks!  
  
~Jax 


	6. Darkness

Hey everyone. Sorry for the wait. I had major writers block and I still don't think I got through it all. I really want to work on my other story, but I can't abandon everyone who actually reads this. That just isn't me. Well actually I do have two stories that I have yet to continue, and one I have in progress. All of this snow isn't helping either. I haven't been out of this house in 5 days!!!!! I am getting really annoyed, and I have another snow day tomorrow. I swear as soon as I can I am moving to Hawaii. Does anyone live there? I heard it's nice this time of year. Especially since there is never any snow!!!!  
  
Sprinkles143: They didn't shoot anyone. They heard a shot. Sorry for confusing you  
  
Emily: Sorry for the Cliffhangers, but I like to keep things interesting. HA HA HA  
  
Peace and love to all those at the Nick/Sara shippers group!!!  
  
Thanks for all of the reviews. Don't forget to hit that button at the bottom that says "Submit review". It would make me very happy!  
  
Whatever! On with the story.  
  
~Jax  
  
Disclaimer: CSI peoples aren't mine. They belong to the people at CBS. How I envy them. *The Green-Eyed Monster comes out to play*  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 6: Blackness  
  
Sara shivered as her back was still flat against the cold stonewall. He stood over her with a chilling smile on his face. She could only imagine the look of fear that she had on her face.  
  
"Get up." His voice was rough in her ears. She was frozen. Her muscles wouldn't move when her brain told them to.  
  
His eyes narrowed. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a gun and pointed it at her head. The sound of him cocking it rang in her ear.  
  
"I said get up!"  
  
Sara slowly inched up the wall. Her legs were shaking beneath her. The look on his face was sickening, and it made her angry. She didn't even know why she was there. What did she do to deserve this?  
  
"Who are you and why are you doing this?"  
  
"You really don't remember, do you?"  
  
"Please refresh my memory."  
  
His smile flickered only for a moment.  
  
"It was about, say 5 years ago, you were a CSI level one, and it was you who destroyed our perfect murder! My brother and I would have gotten away with it too. Remember us? The Ricans brothers?" His twisted smile was getting under her skin, but she now remembered the case after he had mentioned it.  
  
It was in her first year as a CSI. She was working with her supervisor on a murder and two attempted homicides. They were going to walk. That was until she found an important piece of evidence. She had gone back to the suspects' house to find if they missed something. She thought that she had gone over everything and was about to leave when she noticed a creaky floorboard. She pried up the board and found a rag with the victims' blood on it.  
  
They got a confession out of them. The brothers were placed in jail the older for the attempted homicide and the younger for the murder. About a month later, the younger committed suicide in his cell.  
  
It was what had happened after the confession, when they were taking them out of the interrogation room that had worried her for a while. The older brother, Jordan, had threatened her that he would come back and kill her.  
  
It seemed that he had come back to keep his word.  
  
"You deserved what you got. Killing innocent people for kicks, what kind of life is that?" Anger grew inside her.  
  
His eyes narrowed again.  
  
"I'd shut up now if I were you." The shaking gun in front of her face steadied. Sara didn't care.  
  
Why should she care? No else seemed too. If they ever had cared, why would she have been this man's captor for over a month? She thought at least Nick would try and find her, but it didn't seem like he ever really cared. It didn't matter now if she died. No one would be there to care. Right?  
  
"You are just a son of a bitch, low-life ass hole that gets his kicks from seeing other people suffer. How do you live with yourself everyday?"  
  
* * *  
  
It happened so fast. She didn't even know what hit her. His face had gone red and then the last thing she heard was his voice saying something like. "Lousy bitch." But she wasn't sure. She turned her face away from his, but it didn't stop the bullet from grazing the back of her head and sending blood down the back of her shirt. Her ears were ringing from the shot that had been millimeters away from being fatal. The pain was unbearable, but she fought through it. She cracked open her eyes. He still stood in front of her with another twisted smile on his face. He started laughing a laugh that Sara was sure would haunt her the rest of her life if by some miracle she made it out of this hell hole. They both looked toward the ceiling when they heard a large crash. He suddenly stopped and the smile was replaced by a fierce look on his face. The last thing Sara remembered was him coming after her with the butt of his gun.  
  
Then everything went black.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Nick, Grissom and Brass looked at each other with horrified looks on their faces. They all feared that the unspeakable had happened.  
  
Nick didn't want to believe it. It couldn't happen like this. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. She wasn't supposed to die again. He didn't think he could go through it again.  
  
Brass interrupted his thoughts.  
  
"Let's go." He pulled out his gun and the two CSI's followed suite. He kicked down the door, and they stormed in.  
  
The sight of a kitchen that seemed to be on its last legs met them. Papers were strewn across the floor. Empty jars were scattered along the countertops.  
  
"Mister Rykins are you here?" Brass's voice bounced off the walls of the shack. The three men slinked along the walls.  
  
After a minute or two of no response, Brass spoke again. "Ok, Grissom, you check upstairs. Nick, you and I will check this floor."  
  
They split up. Brass headed to the front of the house, Grissom headed up the stairs, and Nick poked around the kitchen.  
  
He examined the jars on the counter. They all seemed to have been filled with peanut butter or jelly. A jar of each stood half full. He walked over to a door on the opposite side of the room. It was slightly ajar. Nick cautiously opened it. The creaking of the hinges attacked the silence in his ears.  
  
Nick's gun came out in front of him. Under his feet was a set of rickety stairs. A soft glow came from the darkness.  
  
'She could be down there' he thought.  
  
He slowly started down one step at a time, trying to limit the squeaks coming from the boards. His eyes started to adjust to the light. He could see something in the corner of the room. It looked to be some sort of heap of something.  
  
'Shit that's Sara!!'  
  
Nick ran down the rest of the stairs and made his way over to her. He kneeled next to her. He saw the blood all around her head. He felt for a pulse and found one. He let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Oh my god, Sara wake up."  
  
Tears had come to her eyes. He looked at her for the first time in over a month. It was overwhelming. He and everyone else had thought she was dead, then they found out she was alive but at the hands of a madman. Now he saw her lying unconscious, covered in most likely her blood.  
  
He examined the rest of her. Nick noticed that she was still wearing the cloths he had last seen her in. He looked at her hand. It still had the ring he had given her on her ring finger.  
  
Nick was so absorbed with Sara, he didn't notice someone coming up behind him.  
  
Someone with very deadly thoughts on their mind.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Please read and review!!!  
  
Thanks it would make a very stress and cooped up author very happy.  
  
~Jax 


	7. Limbo Land

Hey! It's me again! I bet you all have been wondering were I have been. Three Words: School's a Bitch. Oh well here it is anyway!!!  
  
PeTiTeCaT: Thanks for reviewing for me when you don't usually review!! It makes me all warm and tingly and inside. And to see if it ends up happy, you will just have to wait and see. : )  
  
Boscolvr: It's ok if you are behind, you've caught up, and I aggress N/S rules!!  
  
LotRseer3350: You are right, Nick is too pretty to wind up dead, but what happens, happens, right?? ; )  
  
Csikid: I have updated, so you can keep on surviving! Thanks for the compliment!!!  
  
An to the rest of those reviewers, keep reviewing and thanks for all of the nice stuff you said. This is for all those N/S shippers out here!! Everyday I am seeing more and more N/S stories out there on fanfiction.net.  
  
R/r!  
  
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Chapter 7: Limbo Land  
  
Grissom had searched upstairs only to find no evidence at all that someone had been held there. He headed back down the stairs to see what Brass and Nick had uncovered. As he reached the bottom, he saw Brass hovering over something in the next room. He walked over.  
  
"Anything upstairs?" Brass asked without looking up.  
  
"No, not a thing that would suggest that she was ever up there. What do you got?"  
  
"Proof that this guy had been watching her for a while before she went missing."  
  
Brass handed over a small stack of photos. Grissom shuffled through them. A few of them were of her outside the lab, some more of her at crime scenes, but the most of them were of her and Nick. It sent shivers up Grissom's spine when he realized that she probably had no idea she was being watched and for three months. What scared him even more was that if she had felt someone watching her, she never told anyone about it.  
  
"Hear anything from Nick?"  
  
"No, nothing since we split up."  
  
"NICK?? Are you finished in the kitchen??"  
  
Grissom's voice reverberated off the walls only to be answered by silence. He glanced over at Brass. The stout detective shrugged back at the CSI's look. Grissom started for the kitchen hoping nothing had happened to the younger man. With guns drawn, the investigators passed through the doorway. They were met with an empty site. Nick wasn't anywhere to be seen. They saw an open door across the room.  
  
Grissom and Brass walked to the door and saw a set of steps leading down into a dark basement.  
  
"NICK? are you down there?"  
  
No response came from the depths of the darkness. The men glanced at each other, both seeing worry in the other's eyes.  
  
Not knowing what to expect, they used extreme caution when going down the creaky stairs.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was an experience Sara had never felt before. It was almost surreal. She felt like she was in some sort of limbo land. She was being pulled in two different directions. One, was a bright light, with warmth, were as at the moment she was freezing, or so that is what she thought. She wasn't really sure if she really was cold or if she was dreaming that she was cold. The other side was bleakness, no lights, no warmth, just a bunch of nothingness, but what kept her from being pulled away from that side was this voice.  
  
It was comfortably familiar to her, soft, gentle, and it gave her what she needed not to pull to the light, just yet. She couldn't hear what the voice was saying, but she had this feeling that it was saying something good.  
  
It dawned on her that this might have been the choice between life and death.  
  
She must have lost a lot of blood for this to happen, she concluded with herself, but was it really her time t go. It was her decision.  
  
She didn't know what to do, part of her wanted nothing more to get away from the madman and away from the coldness of the world, but then her other side was pulling away because death meant never seeing Nick again and giving him the pain and guilt that he didn't get to her on time.  
  
She knew she had to make a decision, she just didn't know which one....  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Nick frantically worked over Sara. He let out a large sigh of relief when he had eventually found her pulse, a weak one, but it was still there. He wasn't sure at first if he would find one. He saw the blood that had pooled around her head and it looked like she was losing even more. Nick needed to stop the bleeding.  
  
He quickly took off his jacket and held it beneath her head where she had been grazed by the bullet. Nick then started to look at the rest of her body. Taking in everything, he noticed how deathly pale her skin was. She was cold and clammy.  
  
He noticed the dark spot on he shirt. He gently lifted it revealing her stomach. Nick gasped when he saw the large gash in her side. His mind traveled back to the lab and the contents of the package that he had gotten not that long ago. The wound was still bleeding, but not at a rate that could kill her.  
  
Nick knew she must have lost a lot of blood. From the blood they had received back at the lab, to the gash on her side, to the gunshot graze on the back of her head. He ran his fingers through her ragged hair. He kept the jacket pressed against her head.  
  
"Come on Sara, You can make it!! Stay with it!! I don't need to lose you again. I could never go though that another time. Please don't give up!"  
  
Nick gently hugged her fragile body feeling the slow, nut steady beating of her heat against his chest.  
  
"I Love You."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
He stood in the dark watching Nick take care of Sara. He heard the young man say something, but it wasn't loud enough for him to hear it. Anger was surging through his body. They weren't supposed to find her, at least not yet. This wasn't the plan. No he would have to do something that he hadn't planned. He hated improvising. He watched as Nick bent down and hugged her. That was all he could take.  
  
He wrapped the leather strap around his hand once more and pulled it tight between his two fists. He silently walked over to his prey, making sure that he made no sound. As he neared, he watched the man rise.  
  
***  
  
Six more steps,  
  
Five more steps,  
  
***  
  
He really didn't want to do this but it had to be done.  
  
***  
  
Four more steps,  
  
Three more steps,  
  
***  
  
Why was he feeling so guilty?  
  
***  
  
Two more steps,  
  
One more step  
  
***  
  
He had to do it. He had to do it or all of the time spent planning his revenge, all of this time he took to carefully make sure that everything went according to plan, and all of the time it took to actually get this far would be wasted. He needed his revenge, and nothing was going to stand in his way.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
In one quick motion, Jordon had the strap around his neck. He shoved Nick's head into the wall. At first, Nick didn't know what had happened but as soon as he realized what was happening, his training kicked in and he started to struggle.  
  
The man behind him was incredibly strong, and Nick's supply of oxygen was starting to run low. He had to act fast and the massive headache from the pending concussion wasn't helping either.  
  
Trying not to pass out, he started to move backwards towards the opposite wall. He felt his body collide with the other as they reached the next wall.  
  
Nick took this opportunity to whack the assailant in the groin with his fist. He felt the strap around his neck loosen as the man behind him keeled over.  
  
He spun around out of the man's grasp. Nick punched his face and his attacker's head snapped back against the wall. He saw the man slump to the floor in an unconscious heap.  
  
His breath short and his chest heaving, Nick sunk to the floor onto his knees, the room around him spinning. He crawled over to Sara and lay next to her grasping her cold, but soft hand. With one last big breath, Nick submitted himself to the darkness.  
  
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Thanks for reading this far. Hope you can hold out till the next update!! Pleaz read & review!! There is that little button, just hit it and say "good job" or "you suck" and you don't even have to say why!! Just click and type away!!! Sorry for the Shortie!  
  
~Jax 


	8. Advice From Your Friendly Neighborhood I...

Hey! I'm baaacckk!! Sorry I was away for so long. I was spending time on my vacation. Namely South Beach in Miami, Florida (That's in the US if anyone out of the country didn't know. It's a very hot spring break spot). But I put a lot of time into this chapter. It's a long one!!! I know a lot of people have been waiting for it!  
  
Moose: Nope I didn't abandon it! I'm glad you have been so loyal. I hope you like this next installment!  
  
Pagan: I am glad I was able to keep you so interested! And thanks for the complement!  
  
Emily: Thanks for forgiving me! I am sorry for that cliffhanger. (You are going to hate me at the end of this chapter) And it took me a long time to catch up with all the N/S stories. I missed two weeks of fanfiction! It was hard to read all that!  
  
Pdhtgal: I know, I love all the N/S fluff. I got some in this chapter and I was going "Aawww!" at my own writing!  
  
Jd burns: Thanks for all the reviews! I am glad you are enjoying the story!  
  
*Just so you know any sing quotes you see means that is what a person is thinking. That will happen quite a bit in this chapter.*  
  
Disclaimer: This thing is getting kinda annoying. I try to do an original disclaimer every chapter, but I am running out of ideas. So lemme try this one.  
  
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation the TV show is a few things such as:  
  
Really entertaining  
  
Extremely interesting  
  
And overall one of if not the best shows out there  
  
Some of the things it's not:  
  
Really Boring  
  
Extremely dull  
  
Owned by me  
  
It never was  
  
And it never will be, so don't sue  
  
So we left off Nick and Sara unconscious in Mr. Rykins basement. Let's see what develops..  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 8: Advice From Your Friendly Neighborhood Inner Self  
  
Grissom and Brass headed down the creaky staircase into the darkness of the basement. Both men had their guns drawn as they reached the bottom. They saw dark shadows in the corner of the room, lying on the floor. Cautiously they inched over. Little by little they could make out three distinct figures.  
  
'This is it' thought Grissom 'I really hope this turns out ok'  
  
"Nick?" he whispered, "Sara?"  
  
A long groan rose from one of the figures. Grissom and Brass saw the shadow sit up. "Aww man that really hurt."  
  
They let out a sigh of relief when they recognized the southern accent.  
  
"Nick? Are you ok?"  
  
"What?" Nick realized the voice belonged to Brass. "You scared me. Yeah, I think I'm ok, besides a possible concussion and almost being strangled to death." He tried to rub the pain away from his head. An awareness came over him "Sara? Sara!" Nick crawled over to where she lay. "Oh god, she is not looking good" He turned to Grissom. "We need to get her to a hospital, she has lost a lot of blood."  
  
During that conversation, Brass had wandered over to the other body lying on the floor. "Nick? Whose this?" He reached down and felt a strong pulse. "I'm not sure, but my guess is Jordan Rykins. He attacked me from behind, but I managed to knock him out."  
  
Brass holstered his gun and took out his handcuffs, as he leaned down to cuff the man, he didn't see the flash in the sharp blue eyes.  
  
Brass was thrown back by a left hook from the seemingly unconscious body before him. Nick and Grissom turned to see what happened. They saw that the man who had been lying on the floor not a second ago was now standing upright with a gun in hand pointed at them.  
  
"Get away from her," he growled. "She needs to be taught a lesson."  
  
"No, she's going to die if we don't help her." Nick still held his jacket to Sara's flowing wound.  
  
"I said get away from her! Both of you! Her dying is all part of the plan and you meddling bastards will not ruin it!" He took a step forward and pointed the gun down at Sara's head. You don't move, and she dies right now in front of you."  
  
Nick raised his hands and slowly moved away not wanting to take away Sara's last chance at life. "Ok you don't have to shoot, see? I moved."  
  
Nick and Grissom slowly walked over to where Brass was lying unconscious on the floor. Jordan trained his gun once again on them.  
  
"Get down on your knees and put your hand where I can see 'em. You men have the pleasure of dying down here with that little slut of yours." He jerked his head over to Sara.  
  
"SHE IS NOT A SLUT!!" Nick couldn't stand him talking like that about Sara. "SHE IS MY FIANCEE AND I LOVE HER VERY MUCH!!!"  
  
Jordan countered that. "If you love her so much, how come you weren't there to save her when she needed you the most? Huh? Answer that pretty boy."  
  
Nick gritted his teeth. Anger flowed through his body as his blood did. His heart was pounding. He was surprised when he heard Grissom's voice come out so cool.  
  
"Jordan, listen to me, what is it that you want? Do you really want to kill more people? Is that what you really want?" Jordan lowered his gun a little. Nick took this as a good sign. Grissom continued. "I think what you wan is revenge, am I right? You have it. She is over there dying cause you got your revenge."  
  
'What is Grissom saying?' thought Nick. 'Is he crazy saying that stuff?'  
  
"That's what you want right? For her to die? You really don't want to kill us, because that's not what you want and-"  
  
"HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE HELL I WANT??" His voice boomed through the basement. Nick flinched at the sound. This didn't look good for them. "I've decided to kill you all. And I think Mr. 'fiancé' should go first so he could greet her at the gates of hell when she gets there." He pointed the gun towards Nick's head.  
  
"I'd ask if you had any last words, but I really wouldn't want to hear them anyway."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
( A/N: This part is kinda like a fill-in 'cause we haven't heard from these guys in a few chapters. Don't worry it will be short)  
  
Catherine and Warrick were going through the evidence that hey had collected at Jordan Rykins apartment. None of it suggested that Sara had ever been there. Catherine had this feeling in the pit of her stomach that something wasn't going right with Grissom and the others. It was this knot like something was wrong, deadly wrong.  
  
Warrick saw that look in Catherine's face. He could tell that she felt the same thing he did. Something was not going right.  
  
"Cath, don't worry. I'm sure they're fine and that they found Sara and she is coming back to the lab only to start working 24/7 again." He looked at her from across the lighted layout table.  
  
"I really hope your right Warrick. It is just kinda funny that they wouldn't call to give us an update. I have this knot in my gut saying that things are not going well for them."  
  
"I have the feeling too. Something doesn't feel right." He finished "I just hope I'm wrong."  
  
(There that fill-in wasn't so bad now was it?)  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
(Here is the part I know you all have been waiting for)  
  
Sara still wasn't sure what to do, but during this time she had slowly inched toward the bright light and away from the dark. She was so cold. She needed the warmth it gave her. But there was still one thing that was holding her back from running full throttle into the light.  
  
Nick.  
  
She wasn't sure what was going to happen to him one way or another. He might one day find her and she didn't want him to find her dead and know that she gave up on him. She loved him more than anything in the world. They were going to get married and have a family together. It just went so wrong. In one afternoon, her life changed forever, and no doubt his did too.  
  
The only thing that was holding her back from waking up from this horrible nightmare was what if she had been right. That the only reason she was in this mess was because no one cared enough to come and save her from that hellhole.  
  
Sara could still hear voices coming from the darkness. They were getting a little louder. She could only imagine who was out there with her captor. Probably some accomplice of some sort she figured.  
  
'What do I do?' She thought to no one in particular. She was extremely surprised when someone answered.  
  
'Do what you want to do.'  
  
'But I don't know what I want...Who are you?'  
  
'I'm you. I'm your inner self. Everyone has one, you just never took the time to listen to me or you would know I'm here all the time.'  
  
'If you're saying that you are my inner self, that you are me, then tell me, what do I want? Cause I sure have no idea.'  
  
'I cannot tell you want, it's against the inner self rule book, but I can tell you what you have. You, right now at this very moment, have three things. They would be Atychiphobia, Monophobia, and Nick Stokes. Or to say it simply, the fear of failure, the fear of being alone, and a guy who loves you so much that he asked you to marry him.'  
  
Sara was silent for a second. She knew the voice was right.  
  
'Of course, I'm always right'  
  
'Will you shut up for a second?'  
  
She was scared to fail and to be alone forever, but maybe not so scared that she had phobias, but they were there. She worked so hard at succeeding in life and her fear of being alone only developed after she had started going out with Nick. She was afraid of having him leave her, by herself, with no one there.  
  
'But he loves you so much that he would never do that to you. And you know that'  
  
'Yeah I do, but I am still afraid of what will happen if I go back out there and find out that he has moved on with out me, which would be worse than if I found him dead. Then I would truly be alone'  
  
'You know for being so smart and all you are really thick. Do you think Nick is the only one who really cares for you? What about Catherine, Warrick, Grissom, Greg, your parents? Are any of them ringing a bell? They all care for you too, just as much as Nick does. So you will never really and truly be alone.'  
  
'But even if I do go back out there, I don't think I can win. I am afraid that-'  
  
'No I am cutting you off right there. You know you are not the only one with fears in this world. But what is life if you don't face those fears. You have to take risks once and a while. It is the only way we get anywhere.'  
  
'But I don't take risks, I never was the risk-taker'  
  
'Sara you took the biggest risk of all by loving someone and in turn letting someone love you. Compared to that, this is a piece of cake, cheese cake I might add cause that's our favorite'  
  
Sara once again pondered this.  
  
'I'm still not sure about going back'  
  
'I cannot help you decide whether to go back or leave forever. In the end it's your choice.'  
  
'I hate making decisions. I am always afraid I'll choose the wrong thing'  
  
'Maybe you have Decidophobia'  
  
'Lemme guess, the fear of making decisions'  
  
'You got that right, I knew you were smarter than you looked'  
  
Sara still leaned toward the light. Not really paying attention to the voices that were still coming from the black. That was until she heard a familiar one ring out.  
  
"SHE IS NOT A SLUT!!! SHE IS MY FIANCEE AND I LOVE HER VERY MUCH!!!"  
  
'Did you hear that?!?!'  
  
'Yeah..that voice, it sounded familiar'  
  
'It's Nick you idiot! He's here! He came for me! He said he loved me very much!'  
  
'Didn't I say he loves you so much that he would never leave you alone?'  
  
'Yes, It just means more coming from him.'  
  
'So what are you going to do now? Sit here in you mind talking to yourself? Or are you going to get out there and fight? I mean we have great pancake breakfasts here and all, but you always seemed to really enjoy eating the ones that Nick made special for you.'  
  
'I have to go out and help him.'  
  
'That's the ticket.'  
  
Sara started running into the darkness until she stopped and she shouted back, 'I'll never forget you! Thanks for your help and I'll try take listen for you again.'  
  
'You know there's nothing like a near death experience to get you intone with your inner self. Goodbye! Have a nice life!'  
  
'Goodbye! And thanks again for everything!' Sara ran off into the black. It was deathly cold and the voices she was hearing were getting louder and clearer.  
  
She could hear Grissom's voice now.  
  
"Do you really want to kill more people? Is that what you really want?"  
  
He came for her too. The inner voice was right. They did care for her. How could she have ever doubted them?  
  
Sara could feel the feeling coming back throughout her body. After a few more seconds she was back in the real world opening her blurry eyes to a horrifying sight.  
  
Nick and Grissom at the mercy of her captor and Brass lying on the floor  
  
She stayed silent and didn't move. She knew that she may not have a lot of time left and she had to help them.  
  
Sara scanned the area around her and spotted someone's gun but it was to dark to se whose. She carefully moved her hands toward the firearm, trying to make as little noise as possible from the chains that were still around her wrists.  
  
She heard Grissom speak some more.  
  
"That's what you want right? For her to die?"  
  
It was a trick. Sara could tell.  
  
She managed to wrap her hands around the gun. She slowly brought it to rest on top of her heaving chest. She was startled to hear Jordan's voice shout out.  
  
"HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE HELL I WANT??"  
  
She didn't like what she heard next.  
  
"I've decided to kill you all. And I think Mr. 'fiancé' should go first so he could greet her at the gates of hell when she gets there."  
  
She saw him point the gun at Nick's head. It was now or never.  
  
"I'd ask if you had any last words, but I really wouldn't want to hear them anyway."  
  
"THEN MAYBE YOU WILL WANT TO HEAR WHAT I HAVE TO SAY!!"  
  
Sara shouted these words as she sat up and directed the barrel of the gun to Jordan's back.  
  
He hadn't even turned all the way around before Sara had emptied the gun into his body not missing a single shot.  
  
She saw his eyes stare at her and he fell to his knees in front of her.  
  
Sara heard him whisper only loud enough for her to hear as smoked rose from his chest.  
  
"I'll see you in hell."  
  
He was dead before his head hit the floor.  
  
Sara's chest was still heaving. She dropped back to the floor and let the gun slip from her fingers. There was pain all over her. She was extremely dizzy from the lack of blood that was flowing through her system. She closed her eyes.  
  
'I did it. I got him. I saved Nick and Grissom. We won.'  
  
'See? I told you piece of cheese cake!'  
  
'Yes, you were right. Am I coming back?'  
  
'Do you want to?'  
  
'I-'  
  
"SARA!"  
  
She slightly lifted her eyelids to see Nick running to be next to her. He knelt down next to her and cupped her face in his hands.  
  
"Oh my god, I was so worried about you. All this time I thought you were dead and by some miracle, you were brought back to me. It was horrible without you. I could never look at any woman the same."  
  
Sara saw tears in his eyes. "Yeah I'm back, thanks to you. I love you very much too."  
  
"Nick! You need to get Sara into the car and get her to the hospital!" Grissom had revived Brass who was now sitting on the floor rubbing his head. "I'll stay here with Brass and call this in. Now Go!!"  
  
Nick nodded in acknowledgement. "Ok Sara, just hold on. I'm going to pick you up and we are going to the car. Just stay with me here."  
  
"Ok" she whispered back.  
  
Nick flung his blood soaked jacket onto his shoulder. He slid his arms underneath her broken-down body and lifted her up. He was surprised to feel how light she had become these past couple weeks.  
  
"Come on Sara, Stay with me." He trudged up the wooden staircase through the god-forsaken kitchen and out into the bright Nevada sunlight. He looked down at Sara who had her eyes closed. She was deathly pale, which made sense since she had been in a dark basement for over a month, but it still scared Nick.  
  
"Here we go Sara, we are getting into the truck now and you will be at the hospital soon, ok?"  
  
"Yeah Nick. Whatever you say." Her voice shadowed with oncoming fate.  
  
"Keep talking Sara. Let me know you are still here." He slid her into the back of the truck and put the jacket once again underneath her slowly flowing head wound. He buckled her in and closed the door gently.  
  
Nick got into the driver's seat, turned on the car and sped away from a place he would never have to see again.  
  
"He Nick?"  
  
"Yeah Sara?" He glanced into the review mirror at her, being glad to know she was still alive.  
  
"What took you so long?"  
  
Nick chuckled a little through his watery eyes. He let a few drop. We all thought you were dead Sara. Right after I got off with you on the phone, they say that there was a gas explosion in you're apartment and the whole complex burnt down. We had a funeral and everything. After that, everything felt so final."  
  
"Mmm..For a while I thought is was cause you didn't care about me enough to go look for me." She murmured back.  
  
"Oh No Sara. I love you more than life itself. If I had known you were still out there alive, I would have never stopped looking until I found you. You are my world."  
  
"I love you too Nick. Promise me one thing."  
  
"Anything in the world."  
  
"If I don't make it, don't look back. Move forward with your life. Live it to the fullest and don't let me be your burden. I'll be waiting for you."  
  
"Sara, don't talk like that. Of course you're going to make it. I lived life once without you and I don't think I could ever do it again."  
  
"Promise me."  
  
"Yes, I promise, but I would never keep me from thinking about you everyday of the rest of my miserable life without you. But that's not going to happen cause you will pull, and we will get married and we will have a family."  
  
Nick was met by silence. By this time he had reached the highway and was going full speed down the stretch of road. He still had about 15 minutes until he reached the closest hospital.  
  
"Sara?"  
  
More silence  
  
"Sara? Are you still with me?"  
  
He glanced into the backseat of the car. Nick saw her with her eyes closed. Her chest was slowly rising and falling.  
  
"Shit Sara, don't die on me here." He urged the car to go faster. The 15 minutes went by like 15 hours. He finally swung the car into the emergency center of Tonopah Hospital.  
  
"Come on Sara. You have to pull through this. I'm lost without you." He took her out of the back seat and rushed her in through the sliding glass doors.  
  
"Please! I need someone to help!"  
  
A young female doctor ran up to him.  
  
"Sir, what's wrong?"  
  
"She's dying that's what's wrong! She has lost a lot of blood and has had no response for the past 15 minutes. She needs help!"  
  
"Hurry! Bring her this way! Judy!" She called out to a nurse. "Get me Dr. Stevens into Emergency room 2! I need him on this one and I don't care what he is doing right now! We have a life to save!"  
  
Everyone who was sitting in the waiting room with broken arms and other non- fatal ailments watched in awe at the sight before them.  
  
"What's her name?" said the young doctor as he motioned to Nick to lay her on a gurney.  
  
"Sara"  
  
The doctor pulled on his stethoscope as he tried to listen to her heart. Nurses had started to come around and wheel her into the ER. One was hooking up an IV.  
  
"Sara, my name is Dr. Kelly. I am going to be helping you. If you can hear me or if something hurts, please let me know."  
  
No response.  
  
"Sir, Sir! I need you to stay out here." A nurse held Nick back from going past the large swinging doors.  
  
He watched through the windows as they wheeled her into one of the Emergency rooms and the doors that she had gone through completely shut.  
  
Now it was the worst part.  
  
The part where he had to wait until the doctor came out and delivered the news.  
  
Nick stood there, his feet planted to the ground.  
  
"Sir, please come and sit down."  
  
The nurse guided him to a chair.  
  
'She has got to come out of there. I don't know what I would do without her again.'  
  
Nick's face fell into his hands. He was awoken by his thoughts by his beeper ringing. He looked at the number. It was Catherine. He got up and walked to the payphone across the lobby. He deposited the change he had in his pocket and dialed her cell number.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey I got your page."  
  
"Where are you? I tried your cell but it went right to your voicemail. Why?"  
  
"I'm at Tonopah Hospital, you know no cell phones."  
  
"What? Are you ok? What happened?"  
  
"It's a long story, but to make it short, we found Sara."  
  
"You did?"  
  
"Yeah but she is in really bad shape. They are working on her in the ER right now. She lost a lot of blood, not to mention whatever else this guy did to her. It's not looking good Cath, I can't lose her again."  
  
"Nick, sit tight and call me if anything develops. Warrick and I are on our way. Where are Grissom and Brass?"  
  
"They are still at the brother's house."  
  
"Ok well I'll call them and see what's happening over there. We should be out there in a few hours. Everything's gonna be ok."  
  
"I really hope your right Cath. I'll see you in a little while."  
  
"Ok, see you."  
  
Nick sat back down and waited. No one came out to give him any news. He did have to fill out some forms about Sara. He had been there for over an hour when Grissom showed up.  
  
"Any news?"  
  
"No, nothing. Where's Brass?"  
  
"He had to go back to Vegas."  
  
Grissom sunk down to the chair next to the younger man. He patted his back. "Don't worry. I have known Sara for a long time, and she never gives up that easily. You know just as well as I do how stubborn she is."  
  
Another half hour passed and Grissom had fallen asleep in his chair. Nick was pacing about the lobby when he saw Catherine, Warrick, and to his surprise Greg, walk through the sliding doors of the ER. Nick woke up Grissom.  
  
Catherine went over to Nick. "How is she?"  
  
"We don't know. There hasn't been any information at all. She has been in surgery for almost two hours now. I'm starting to get really worried."  
  
Nick eye's widened when over the top of Catherine's head he saw the lady doctor he had talked to earlier with her hands and smock covered in blood coming over to him.  
  
"Oh my god." He whispered.  
  
"What is it?" Catherine turned around. Her eyes welled up when she saw the sight before her.  
  
Her solemn scared the group.  
  
"You must all be friends of Sara, well I have some news for you."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Hey that was a long chapter! I know. I left you hanging off a really high cliff, but I will make it up to you in the next chapter, which might be awhile. I really hope you liked this chapter! I worked extra hard on it! It's like 11 pages long so you know I love you guys. I hope to be writing again soon! Pleaz read & review! You can say "You Rock" or "You Suck" and you don't have to say why either! Just click and type away! Or AIM me at ShootinStarz1575!! Thanks!!  
  
~Jax 


	9. Hold On

Yes!! She's back!! After a long wait! She is back!  
  
I really hope you like this!!  
  
This chapter is based off the song "Hold On" by Good Charlotte. Some of the lyrics don't exactly pertain to this story but I really love the chorus!  
  
A Bloom: Hopefully this chapter will give you your Greg fill!  
  
Frankie the Wonder Wiener Dog: Sorry you can't hit the little blue button on this chapter, but if you go back to the last one, now you can!  
  
snowflakeangel01: Hey! My big supporter! Thanx for all of your..uh...support! I got into the CSI mode and wrote, so now you get into it!! I need something!!  
  
Emily: I AM A CRUEL PERSON WHO LIKES TO MAKE EMILY SUFFER! I AM A CRUEL PERSON WHO LIKES TO MAKE EMILY SUFFER! I AM A CRUEL PERSON WHO LIKES TO MAKE EMILY SUFFER! Did I say it enough times? Sorry for the last cliffhanger but hopefully this one isn't as big!  
  
Disclaimier: The song belongs solely to the band Good Charlotte (hotties!) and CSI and all things pertaining to CSI belong to CBS and all those lucky bastards out there in Cali!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Last Chapter*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Nick eye's widened when over the top of Catherine's head he saw the lady doctor he had talked to earlier with her hands and smock covered in blood coming over to him.  
  
"Oh my god." He whispered.  
  
"What is it?" Catherine turned around. Her eyes welled up when she saw the sight before her.  
  
The doctor's solemn face scared the group.  
  
"You must all be friends of Sara, well I have some news for you."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 9: Hold on  
  
Dr. Kelly paused for a second and watched the group form around her.  
  
"Sara has lost a lot of blood. Anymore and she would have bleed out to death. We also had to give her about 50 stitches between the open wound on her side and her head wound. She also sustained a severe concussion. I also believe she was poisoned by something. I am not sure what, but it severely damaged her stomach. We also found signs of malnutrition. She has a very high protein and carbohydrate count in her blood. The lack of Vitamin C has actually led to the beginning signs of scurvy and a mild case of anemia."  
  
The doctor paused as she let the forlorn group process what she had just said.  
  
Greg was actually the first one to speak.  
  
"But she's alive?"  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
This world  
  
This world is cold  
  
But you don't  
  
You don't have to go  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
The doctor's voice was soft and quiet.  
  
"Yes, but barely. She is on a respirator and life support. She has slipped into a very deep coma. To tell you the truth, she may never come out of it."  
  
Dr. Kelly looked at the floor. This was the worst part of her job. Telling the families that they may never see their loved ones again. Tears were burning in the back of her eyes.  
  
"I'm very sorry."  
  
Nick spoke up in a whisper.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Catherine now had tears streaming steadily down her face in red streaks. She looked at the doctor who had been working on her friend for the past few hours.  
  
"When can we see her?" She finally managed to choke out what everybody else was wondering.  
  
"She is being moved to the ICU right now. As soon as I can, I will let you see her."  
  
The group nodded their heads in silence.  
  
The doctor went quietly away.  
  
By then Catherine had broken into a full out cry. Grissom was trying to comfort her but was having a hard time since tears were falling down his own face as well. He led her over to the group of chairs that they had been sitting in earlier and they both sat down.  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
Your feeling sad your feeling lonely  
  
And no one seems to care  
  
Your mothers gone and your father hits you  
  
This pain you cannot bear  
  
But we all bleed the same way as you do  
  
And we all have the same things to go through  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
Greg also sat down. His face was in his hands. Tears were visible falling from between his fingers.  
  
Warrick ran his fingers through his hair before speaking up.  
  
"I am going to go get coffee. It is going to be a long night."  
  
And with that he headed to the receptionist and asked her where the cafeteria was. She pointed him down the hall and gave him directions to 'take a right at the end of the hall and it would be on his left past radiology.'  
  
He thanked her and left.  
  
Nick watched as his friend disappeared down the hallway. The world as he knew it was crumbling away from around him. He looked at his friends. They had become more of a family over the years. But in the last month, they all seemed to drift apart. Greg was hardly ever making jokes, Warrick had stopped competing with him, Catherine had become less of the outspoken person that she had once been, and even Grissom drifted more away from the rest of them. Nick could tell he had become different as well. He saw that he had lost his ability to be the 'people person'.  
  
The team, as a group, had been falling apart.  
  
After the memorial service, it all felt so final to everyone, not just Nick. Everyone coped with it in different ways.  
  
Then came the time for Sara's locker to be cleaned out.  
  
They were all there when it was time for Nick to do it. He opened the locker easily since Sara had given him the combo a time before when they first became engaged. He had given her his as well.  
  
He had no reason to go in there until now. The first thing he saw were the pictures on the door. One of her as a girl on the beach. One of her as a teen at Christmas with her family. Then one of the team at the New Years Eve party where he had proposed to her. The new ring was glittering on her finger. The last picture was of him leaning against the hood of the Tahoe looking off into the distance.  
  
Nick remembered that picture like it was yesterday. Sara and him had gone to their favorite spot to watch the sunrise. She had sneaked up from behind and took the photo before he realized what she was been doing.  
  
At that, Nick couldn't finish the job and left. The rest of the team packed up what was left and sealed it in a box. The box now lay in Nick's closet on the top shelf. He still hadn't gone through the contents.  
  
But that wasn't enough.  
  
Everyday, he passed her picture in the hallway of the lab on the 'Those of Us Who have Fallen' board. News clippings of what had happened went up on the bulletin board.  
  
The only distraction was his work, and that didn't do much do distract him.  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
Hold on if you feel like letting go  
  
Hold on it gets better than you know  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
Nick finally sat down next to Greg. There was no emotion on his face. He didn't now what he felt. Everything was mixed up together. Hope, anger, fear, love, hate, for the life of him, he didn't know anything.  
  
Warrick returned with coffee, handing each of them a Styrofoam cup. Nick took his without even looking up to acknowledge that his friend was standing right in front of him.  
  
Minutes went by like hours. To Nick, time just seemed to drag on and on and on.  
  
He sat there for what seemed like forever. No one spoke. Only the occasional page to a doctor was heard over the intercom. The silence was both comforting and unnerving to Nick. He needed to know if Sara, the love of his life, would ever really be ok.  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
The days, you say they're way too long  
  
And your nights, you cant sleep at all  
  
And you're not sure what you're waiting for but you don't want to no more  
  
And you're not sure what you're looking for but you don't want to no more  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
Hours later, Dr. Kelly still had not come back with any news  
  
Catherine spoke up. "I need to call my sister. I need to tell her to go get Lindsey for me."  
  
She stood up, leaning on Grissom for support, and went over to the payphone that, only hours earlier, Nick had used to call her.  
  
Nick could hear the call in the back of his mind.  
  
'Hey, it's me. Could you pick up Lindsey for me at school?....Oh I'm at Tonopah Hospital...No, I'm fine, really. It's my friend, Sara..yes, yes...she's that one....ok, ok..thanks.'  
  
Nick watched as Catherine sat down once again next to Grissom and leaned her head onto his shoulder.  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
But we all bleed the same way as you do  
  
And we all have the same things to go through  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
It wasn't long afterward that Dr. Kelly came back to the sullen faced group. They all slowly looked up.  
  
"She has been moved to her own room and is settled in. There hasn't been any change in her condition, but I am more hopeful that she will pull through. Please follow me."  
  
The people in the group glanced at each other before following the young woman doctor silently down the florescent lit hallways of the hospital.  
  
2 lefts, 4 rights and a set of stairs later, they were standing in front of room 475 in the ICU ward.  
  
"Before I can let you in, you have to know some things. Only one person in the room for now. If she starts to get better, we will allow more. Also you can only stay in there for 10 minutes each. Also you maybe shocked to see her. You have to remember she has been through a lot. Whose first?"  
  
"Nick is," said Warrick. He gently pushed his friend forward.  
  
The doctor led him into the room. The door shut slowly behind him.  
  
The sight in front of Nick was too hard to believe. There was Sara. Right in front of him. Lying in the hospital bed.  
  
Nick couldn't believe it was her. She was surrounded by tubes and wires. He could barely see her face. He sat down in the chair next to the bed. His mouth open in shock.  
  
The doctor came up behind him and cleared her throat.  
  
"Sir, this was on her finger when she was brought in. We had to take it off during surgery. I think you should have it."  
  
He looked over at her. She had her hand outstretched towards him.  
  
The engagement ring he had given to Sara only weeks ago, was lying in her palm. Nick gently took the ring in his own hand. He looked at it with such focus, that he didn't realize the doctor had left. Everything felt like a dream to him. The past month wasn't real to him. The memorial service, the cleaning out of her locker, the day they realized she was still alive somewhere, finding her, her saving them, then now, her in the hospital bed, in a coma, on the brink of death.  
  
He looked at the tarnished ring a few seconds more and remembered what Sara had said to him in the car.  
  
'For a while I thought it was cause you didn't care about me enough to go look for me'  
  
He put the ring on her cold finger.  
  
"Sara, I love you more than life its self. I need you more than anything in the world. Please, wake up! Please just hold on!"  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
Hold on if you feel like letting go  
  
Hold on it gets better than you know  
  
Don't stop looking your one step closer  
  
Don't stop searching its not over  
  
Hold on  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
Nick intertwined his fingers with hers and brought it up to his face. He closed his eyes as he felt he skin against his.  
  
The constant blip of the machines in the room and the respirator at work, were the only things that broke the silence.  
  
A few minutes later, he rose from the chair. He leaned over her visage and kissed her. He squeezed her hand one last time and laid it gently on the bed.  
  
Nick silently passed through the door and was met by his colleagues.  
  
"She's alive"  
  
And with those two words, he left down the hallway and around the corner.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Why am I back here?"  
  
'Because,'  
  
"Because why?"  
  
'Because you had another near death experience.'  
  
"Well that's just great. Can I go back? I don't really like this place very much."  
  
'That may be a bit more difficult than last time.'  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
'It's not your decision anymore whether you go back of not.'  
  
"You mean I can't just walk into the black and then be alive again?"  
  
'Nope'  
  
"Why?"  
  
'Look, right now in the real world, you are in a very deep coma, one that many people never come out of. At this stage, it is not up to the person to decide if they live or die.'  
  
"Then whose is it?"  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
What are you looking for  
  
What are you waiting for  
  
Do you know what your doing to me  
  
GO AHEAD  
  
What are you waiting for  
  
*@*@*@* Sara was now fuming with frustration. She wanted to get out of here. She hated this 'in-between land'.  
  
'Well, none of us our really sure, we don't know exactly who or what it is. We call him "The Judge". Now in his presence we just call him 'sir' but he is really tough.'  
  
"Wait there are more of you? And what do you mean by tough?"  
  
'Yes there are more of us. One for each alive person. Then when a person dies, depending on how well you did helping them in life, you retire to Paridisio estate or The Not-so-great motel.'  
  
"O-kay"  
  
'And The Judge is tough in court, is what I meant.'  
  
"Wait, what do you mean 'in court'?"  
  
'I mean when you go to be judged on if you should go back.'  
  
"Explain this to me. I am so lost."  
  
'Ok, well when it is your turn to be judged, you will go to court. The Judge will ask you if you want to go back or not. If you say yes, then you have to convince him to let you go back. If you say no, then you have to convince him of that too.'  
  
"What happens if he says 'no you can't go back'?"  
  
'Then you can leave you life, or you can try again.'  
  
"Try again?"  
  
'Yes people have tried again and some eventually do get back, but others give up. That is why some people stay in really long comas. They keep trying to get back.'  
  
"So when do I get judged?"  
  
'You never know, but usually within a few Earth days. Then as you keep trying, you have to wait longer. If you don't make it on the first try, the next one is in a few months, then years, and so on.'  
  
"When do I know it is my turn?"  
  
'They will call for you.'  
  
"So I just wait?"  
  
'Yup!'  
  
"Great! I get to be bored stiff!"  
  
'You know to pass the time, we could watch what is going on in the real world.'  
  
Sara perked up  
  
"You can do that?"  
  
'Yeah'  
  
"Well get a move on! Get the show started already! Sheesh!"  
  
Suddenly, it was like the floor beneath her began to open up. It reveled to her the hospital room where she lay in the real world.  
  
"Is that really me?"  
  
'Uh Huh'  
  
"Oh my god, It's Nick!"  
  
She watched as he entered the room and sat down next to her body. She saw the interaction with the nurse and him putting the ring on her finger. Then she heard his words.  
  
She felt like crying out to him "I'm here Nick! I am right above you!"  
  
But she couldn't  
  
Sara watched in pain as he went out in the hall. She saw her friends. They were all so sad. This was hard for her to watch but she continued. Nick left the group, but she didn't follow him.  
  
Sara gazed on as Greg became the next one into the room. Catherine, Grissom and Warrick couldn't bare going in just after seeing Nick like that.  
  
Greg sat down next to her. He squeezed her hand.  
  
She heard him speak.  
  
"Hey Sara. It's Greg. I just wanted to tell you how much everyone here is rooting for you. We all miss and love you. We need you to fight for us ok?"  
  
Sara wanted to respond, "I'll try!" but it was useless.  
  
He continued  
  
"I have something for you to listen to. I know how much you hate my music, but I really think you need to hear this song. It is one of my favorites."  
  
She watched as he took his portable CD played out of his pocket and placed the headphones near her ears. He pressed play.  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
Hold on if you feel like letting go  
  
Hold on it gets better than you know  
  
Don't stop looking your one step closer  
  
Don't stop searching its not over...hold on  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
The music she heard made her break down.  
  
"Oh my god Greg."  
  
She listened as the lyrics played out the soft, heart-filled music.  
  
Suddenly, as fast as the floor had gone, it came back and a loud voice boomed through her.  
  
'SARA SIDLE'  
  
"What's happening?"  
  
'He is calling you. It is time to be judged.'  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
Hold on if you feel like letting go  
  
Hold on it gets better than you know  
  
Don't stop looking your one step closer  
  
Don't stop searching its not over...hold on  
  
*@*@*@*  
  
TBC  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Ok, I am sorry if the whole, how people live or die thing offends anybody. I made it up! Well at least I believe I did. Please don't sue anything.  
  
BTW does anyone know how to italics, bolds and underlines to show up on Fanfiction.net?  
  
Please review!! The person who gives me my 100th gets something!! Please hit the little blue button for little old me!!  
  
~Jax 


	10. The Prosecution

So after long last she returns! Only 10 month later! Yes I have finally updated the story! I know I am so bad, but I have also been working on my 'Survivor: LVCL' as well if that gets me any points. So to quickly get on to the story, here is installment #10! Thanks to all my reviewers! Review again!

~Jax

Disclaimer: Not mine! Don't sue or shoot! I only took them out to play and I promise I'll put them back where they came from. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 10: The Prosecution

Nick headed out into the parking lot of the hospital.  He couldn't believe what he had just seen.  She looked so lost, so lonely to him. If he didn't know that it had been her lying in that bed, he would have never guessed that that was Sara.

The sun was setting on the desert horizon.  The sky turned from blue into brilliant shades of reds, purples, and pinks.  The warm air started to cool as night began to come over the hospital where Nick stood outside of.  

His mind traveled back to the picture of him that he had found in Sara's locker.  They were watching a sunset just as beautiful as the one in front of him.  Oh god, he would do anything to go back in time to before this all happened.  To hold her hand he had done seemed like a memory so far away from now.  He wished he didn't feel so alone.  

Leaning up against the Tahoe, Nick thought about the past weeks and tears came to his eyes.  The team, even though Sara's disappearance brought them together, they seemed to fall apart.  Now that she was back, he didn't know what was going to happen.  Could the team hold up if they lost her for a second time?  What would happen is she did one day come back?  He didn't know.  He knew no one would know for sure until the time for it came.

Tears were rolling down his face at this point.  He leaned up against the hood of the Tahoe that, only hours before, held him and Sara.  

Lost in thought he didn't register in his mind that a person had walked up behind him until he felt a hand on his shoulder.  

"Penny for your thoughts?"

It took a moment for Nick to collect himself, but with a deep breath, words tumbled out of his mouth.  

"I don't know how I can deal with it anymore.  The first time around was hard enough.  I can't live through the whole thing again.  What am I going to do Catherine?  I feel so helpless.  She is in there practically dying and I can't do a damn thing about it!"

His breathing was raspy as she tried to answer him.

"Nick I……It's just that……"  She had a hard time finding the right words.  She sighed before starting again.  

"Look the…. disappearance was hard on us all and I think we are all kind of lost about what we're going do too.  If we do have to go through it again…………we'll get through it together. Ok?"

He nodded.

"We have to be positive about this.  I know it sounds silly, but I think that she can still hear us.  They always said that people in comas can hear you and I believe that.  If she hears us being negative, I just think that she may not want to….."

She couldn't finish but Nick understood.  He had to believe in what Catherine said and stay positive…..for her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
'SARA SIDLE'  
  
"What's happening?"  
  
'He is calling you. It is time to be judged.'

"Already? But you said it would take…..like……days!"

'I said it would take WITHIN days.  So it took, what, an hour? So sue me!'

"Believe me if I could I would."

'So are you ready yet??'

"Yeah ok let's go."  Sara knew she sounded more confident then she really was.  She felt herself being pulled forward by some invisible force.  She was led up to large ebony doors with golden handles.  She stood there for a moment wondering what to do.  Finally she reached out her hand to turn the knob and the doors slowly opened before her.  She saw an enormous stand that reached at least 20 feet above her head and assumed 'The Judge was sitting on it, but she couldn't see him.

'Are you ready?'

Sara looked down to where the voice had come from.  She gasped when she saw who it was.  A little brown-haired girl with pigtails, jeans and a tee shirt stood next to her. She couldn't believe it.  It was herself as a five-year-old.  

'Well, are you?'

"You were the one talking the whole time?"

'Yes, you can call me Marie and, yes, I know that's our middle name. Now shhhh!  Now you want to go back right?'

Sara nodded.

'Ok, this is going to be a tough case but I think we can do it.  We need to make sure we do this right.  "The Prosecutor" can really make a case against just about anyone.  He is a real jerk too.'

'SARA SIDLE ARE YOU READY?'

'Yes sir, she is!' the little girl called.  She took Sara's hand and led him to a table with two chairs.  They sat down. 

Sara looked over to the table across the aisle and saw a man with a familiar face.

"Hey isn't that Ecklie?" she whispered.

'No, look, everyone you see here is not going to be who they look like.  We only look this way because this is what you would feel most familiar with.' Marie whispered back.

"Oh"

"SARA SIDLE, YOU ARE A 33 YEAR OLD CSI FROM LAS VEGAS THAT IS NOW IN A COMA IS THAT CORRECT?"

"Yes sir, it is."

"OK, WILL THE PROSECUTION PLEASE BEGIN."

'Thank you sir' The Ecklie look-alike stood and began to speak. 'Your honor, this woman has been a social outcast for most of her life and she does have people who care about her, but it seems that she has always been socially inept.  I present exhibit A.'

A video clip of Sara had started showing on the wall.  She was 7 years old and on the beach with a bunch of other children.  

*@*@*@*@*   FLASHBACK   *@*@*@*@*

'Come on! Let's play zoo!  I'll be a tiger!' Said a small boy.

'Oh can I be the giraffe?' shouted a blonde –haired girl.

All the children started shouting all different animals and making animal sounds except for Sara.

'What do you wanna be Sara?'

"I don't want to be anything! It isn't real.  Pretending to be a bunch of dirty animals is stupid."

All the children's faces saddened. 

'Fine!  You don't get to play!  Come on!  Let's go!' All the children left the small Sara alone on the beach.  Being by herself, she searched through the tide pools and found company in the real animals.

*@*@*@*@* END FLASHBACK *@*@*@*@*

Sara remembered that day.  She wanted to play, but found it so hard to make-belief things that could never happen.  She just liked reality better.  If only she could go back……...

'So you see even at an early age she was not able to get along with people.  Now on to exhibit B.'

*@*@*@*@*  FLASHBACK  *@*@*@*@*

A teenage Sara was walking down the hall of her high school; her hands were full of books.  She was heading to the science club when she ran into some of the known school jocks.  Her books tumbled to the floor.  

The head jock started to mock her. 'Oh look guys, it's little Sara on her way to science club.  Awww!  What a loser!'  The group started laughing.

She grabbed up her books and looked at them defiantly as she said to them, "Yeah, well at least I won't be the one with brain damage at the nearest McDonalds asking me 'Do you want fries with that?' and I'll say no thanks, I'm watching my figure.  Then I'll leave and wonder why I ever wasted my time in high school talking to you."

'Why I aughta'

"What you're gonna hit a girl.  Please.  You couldn't hit a second grader who was making fun of your mother."  The face on the head jock tightened. "Now if you excuse me I have more important things to do than to hang around here with the likes of you. I wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong idea."  Sara left the group and they stood there feeling only hatred towards her.  

*@*@*@*@*  END FLASHBACK *@*@*@*@*

Sara didn't know how she could have been so stupid.  Marie gave her a look asking the same thing.

'Now, your honor, the last exhibit, exhibit C'

*@*@*@*@*  FLASHBACK  *@*@*@*@*

Sara, from a year or so ago, was a crime scene taking out a window.  It was a day or so after she had to investigate Warrick for gambling on company time and was really pissed off when he showed up at her crime scene.

Warrick walked in. 'Damn, taking the whole window.'

She shut off her drill.  "Grissom reinstated you."

'And you have a problem with that?'

"Let me guess.  Grissom gets you to dime yourself off and now you both feel better?  You're supposed to be in court.  Instead, you're placing bets for a cheap thrill to satisfy nothing."

'Hey! This has nothing to do with you.  So are we going to work together…….or not?'

"I'm already working."

She goes back to drilling. Warrick sighs.

*@*@*@*@*  END FLASHBACK  *@*@*@*@*

'So as you can see, Miss Sidle over here, has almost never been a social butterfly.  She has just overcome this fear of interaction and even though it seems like she is turning her life around, she just got tired of her old one.  She can't really love this guy she says she does.  It's just a fling.'

**"It is not! I love Nick more than anything else in the world and he loves me the same way!!! We're engaged!!!  You good-for-nothing son-of-a-"**

"PLEASE CONTROL YOUR CLIENT OR I WILL HAVE TO DISMISS THIS CASE FOR FUTHER CONSIDERATION!"

_'Yes sir. Sara sit down and let me handle this!'_

"He is looking way too smug!  Oh if I could just get my hands around his neck-"

_'Hey! Come on, we still have our side to present.  Don't screw this up for yourself.  Think of Nick!'_

"You're right.  Ok let's do this."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hey so that's chapter 10! Finally right? Well pleaz r&r! I know that I have been such a bad updater but I knew I need this to get out there before a whole year past before I updated! I know this is kinda' long and dragged out but I know ya'll know about that! Ok so chapter 11 hopefully soon! 

~Jax


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